Keno ... for crazies?

Alright, so I'm one of those people who thinks the lottery is a good idea. Another utterance usually followed by slaps upside the head by my companions (more 'numbers' people). So is the rest of the world wrong then? Are the millions of people playing lotteries every day doing so for a complete lack of value? Before you answer that with a standard 'yes, of course', re-read the question. Doing so for a complete lack of value. There's something about that word value. Are you seeing it yet? All of these people, myself included, are capable of extracting value from playing the lottery, something along the lines of, we love it.

Now, I'm not equating lotteries with the game of keno, but the similarities are obvious. From a pseudo-psychological point of view, the reason keno players aren't crazy revolves around the fact that the perceived value of placing a small bet based on the possibility of immense return is naturally seen as high; it's a natural human cognitive pattern to see value in this kind of a bet. All that means is that, it to some degree, we all have the urge to take that risk when just that one small act has the potential to make us rich. In fact, this very phenomenon is the basis for the success of gambling as an industry; the details are just different nowadays. It's natural of late to attack the casino from a mental angle, attempting to beat it at its own game, the numbers game. This usually involves playing blackjack with perfect basic strategy, or making all your craps bets on the pass line with odds, and it's these gamblers who lament us in our keno efforts, pitying us for our lack of intellectualism.

To this I say one word: hogwash. Attention all you 'numbers' boys, go and read a book. There's this thing called the house edge, which makes it 'mathematically impossible' to beat blackjack, craps, or any other negative expectation game, and build up a sizable amount of money over the long run. Impossible. Let me say that word one more time, since it's important and I'll be referring back to it. Impossible. Alright, now that we've settled that, let's take a look at keno. After the preceding argument I have but one question: is it impossible to make a sizable amount of money with a single bet, something you cannot do in other games, with keno? Answer: You sure can.

Conclusion: keno players aren't ludicrous, in fact, we may be the only sane ones left.